Borknagar has been working on a new album, which is now being delayed due to band member Vintersorg (Andreas Hedlund) being injured in an accident. Borknagar comments:

"This have been a rough week. Seven days ago Mr. V was seriously injured in an falling accident. This resulted in multiple fractures to the skull, brain hemorrhage and momentary dysfunctional hearing on one ear. We have intentionally kept this off the radar, till he felt fit enough to update the public himself. So his post on Facebook today should be regarded as an heartwarming and uplifting statement of his recovery.

"We would like to wish our colleague and dear friend all the best, the best possible treatment and a speedy recovery to full health. Also all the best to his closest family, his wife and kids in this difficult situation. In the current situation Mr. V's process of recovery and regaining health is the most important thing.

"The release of our new album might be delayed accordingly, as there is absolutely no option to leave our bro behind or in any way compromise on his recovery." More...

Borknagar has been holed up in the studio working on the follow-up to the "Urd" album (reviewed here).

Øystein Garnes Brun has now checked in from the recording studio with the following update: "Tracking basic guitars in my studio for the new Bork album. One more song to go and then I start editing about one zillion takes down to something (hopefully) tasteful..."

Blastfest will be held from the 18th - 21st of February 2015 in Bergen, Norway. The organizers of the festival have now checked in with the following announcement about expanding with new band confirmations:

"It is official, Blastfest will be even bigger! With very positive results and excitement of a recent poll, the Bergen, Norway festival have decided 3 days of metal madness wasn’t enough and have expanded the festival into a 4 day event with a total of 60 bands! That’s 4 days, 4 venues, and 60 bands! Yes. 60 BANDS! The festival is now running from Wednesday February 18th to Saturday February 21st.

"And that’s not just the only announcement the festival will make today because just like the recent spate of updates the festival are keeping form and have just confirmed another 4 bands to the already exploding poster! So without further adieu, we are pleased to report the addition of true Norwegian black metal veterans Gehenna, British symphonic black metallers Hecate Enthroned, Norwegian death metal titans Blood Red Throne and death thrashers Wyruz!"

Norway’s Blastfest has just unveiled another seven great reasons why you need to book the 19th – 21st of February 2015 off work.

Today the festival organizers announce the addition of seven more bands to the billing including Finnish folk metal upstarts Finntroll, melodic black metal sextet Moonsorrow and Ireland’s men of myth Primordial. Also confirmed today are Djevelcult, Tortorum, Crib 45, and Morgoth.

The Bergen festival is only in its second year and previously announced acts such as At The Gates, Decapitated, Rotting Christ, Destruction and Asphyx for the 2015 edition. The currently announced lineup is as follows: More...

Bergen, Norway, former home of the legendary Hole In The Sky Festival and considered the black metal capital of the world, is now just under 6 months away from seeing a total extreme metal annihilation!

The second edition of Bergen’s new indoor metal festival, Blastfest, has already been launched with a remarkable lineup.

The 2015 lineup includes the brutal force of Poland’s own Decapitated, Sweden's Craft, the Canadian death institution of Cryptopsy, and Finnish black metal kings, Impaled Nazarene, to name a few.

With still 20 more bands to come, today the festival organizers announce the addition of At The Gates, Dark Funeral, Rotting Christ, Demilich, Sarke, Destruction, Saturnus, Endstille, and Borknagar. More...

In Vain will join the Niflheim Festival Tour 2014, March 7th - 15th, together with Borknagar, Månegarm, Ereb Altor, and Shade Empire.

Johnar Håland (In Vain) comments: “After the great reception of our latest release ‘Ænigma’, we are delighted to be back on tour in March. We are joining as special guests on the Niflheim Festival, which will be headlined by the Norwegian legends Borknagar, who are making a long awaited comeback as a touring band. The package is also including Månegarm, Ereb Altor and Shade Empire. See you on the road!”

Borknagar will be hitting the road with Månegarm, Ereb Altor, and Shade Empire for the Niflheim Festival tour in 2014.

Jens F. Ryland (Borknagar) comments: "This is very exciting, verging on surreal. I have always wanted to play more live with the guys and after 15 years we are finally doing something that doesn't involve only a weekend. This is all thanks to the enormous support we get from our audience all over the world!"

Øystein G. Brun (Borknagar) added: "See you all out in the battlefield in a few months. Really looking forward to this ride with my fellow gunslingers! Hope to see you all! And hey, show us what you got Europe! Cheers!!"

Borknagar has posted a video clip online of the band rehearsing for the Brutal Assault festival, which can be found below. The band also issued the following statement about the clip and recruiting a fill-in member for the performance:

"We have spent the last few days rehearsing for the concert at Brutal Assault in Czech Republic. This concert is also the introduction of Athera (Susperia, Chrome Division) into our ranks. And no, no one left the band..."

Borknagar's Vintersorg also comments: "A huge thank you to Athera for stepping in for me at Brutal Assault! I have been prevented from going, due to work related issues, but I wish all the best to the guys on Saturday! This is of course not a sign of me leaving the band (I'm already working on the vocal lines for new songs) and the ship of Borknagar will set sails even if one member is out."

Andy Winter is behind several noteworthy releases in the more progressive and avant-garde spectrum of the Norwegian post-black metal scene, and now he has released his own new album "Incomprehensible."

The album was produced by Andy Winter himself, mixed by Shaun Thingvold, mastered by Maor Appelbaum, and features artwork by Travis Smith. Samples from all the tracks on the album are now available for streaming via Amazon here.

The track listing is as follows (guest musician appearances listed in parentheses):

Limited to 1,000 copies each, these titles will be available only at your local independent music store starting on Friday, November 23rd. To find a participating store near you, please check out this location. Century Media Records also commented:

"The Olden Domain is Borknagar's second studio album, and their first to feature English lyrics. It also marks the beginning of the band's transition to their trademark progressive/folk/black metal sound featured on later records. This would be the band's last studio album to feature Garm (credited on this album as 'Fiery G. Maelstrom') on vocals. It is also their first album to feature Kai K. Lie on bass, replacing Infernus.

"Songwriting for De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas began as early as 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per 'Dead' Ohlin and murder of guitarist Øystein 'Euronymous' Aarseth, the album's release was delayed until May of 1994. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely considered to be one of the most influential black metal albums of all time. Now available as a deluxe double LP in gatefold packaging with bonus poster, the darkness continues to bleed forth."

Norwegian act Borknagar has teamed up with Decibel Magazine to premiere a music video for "The Earthling," which is taken from the band's new album "Urd" (reviewed here). Check out the video via Decibel or in the player below.

Borknagar's mastermind Øystein G. Brun comments on the video as follows: "The lyrical core-theme of Borknagar has always been to portray the primal encounter between man and Nature, to project the poetry of Nature and to profess pondering about man's existence therein.

"Over the last couple of months we have been working with Twitchy Films to produce a video for the song 'The Earthling'. Thematically, this song really grips onto the backbone of the album 'Urd' and the band in general. As with our music, we wanted to do something really unique and special- and not a typical metal video. You won't see a raging metal band in dim lights with scary effects, but rather a video that sophistically portray the beauty, magnitude and power of the Nature. Kjetil Kolbjørnsrud and David Solbjørg at Twitchy Films spent allot of time and effort to get the right shots and the perfect vibe. They spent hours and days in the Norwegian wilderness to make this video a reality. As you know, Nature is untamable. Hands down for their efforts and the great work! Enjoy, folks!" More...

Last year we showcased three side projects from black metal icon Ihsahn, but there are plenty of musicians from throughout metaldom who have a host of additional projects outside their most well-known bands. This week we’ll take a look at bands covering a range of sounds from the members of Borknagar, Katatonia, and Samael that all show a different side than what fans may be expecting from their favorite musicians.

Otyg

While many may be aware that Vintersorg from Borknagar has had his own self-titled, folk leaning and clean singing focused project for years, it’s not as well known that he was also involved in a folk metal project called Otyg prior to his solo releases.

Otyg had a very ‘90s, proto-metal feel as the musicians were starting to explore the boundaries of the genre, and is a must hear if you want to explore the roots of folk metal or are into the early works of bands like Amorphis or Borknagar. The band released two full-length albums titled “Älvefärd” and “Sagovindars Boning” before going on hold indefinitely. The music is a little on the lo-fi side and not quite as bombastic or epic as the intricately arranged folk and orchestra stuff that has come out of metal in the interim, but just listen to that atmosphere!

Blackened folk metal masters Borknagar are streaming the track "Frostbite" through the band's Facebook page at this location. To access the song "Like" is required. The song appears on the band's latest effort "Urd" which is out today in Europe and tomorrow (March 27, 2012) in North America through Century Media Records. For Metal Underground's review of "Urd," head over to this location.

The release of Borknagar's new album, "Urd" (reviewed here), is only a few days away, and there has already been a massive positive media reaction towards the record.

Amongst others, Germany's Metal Hammer Magazine as well as Norway's Scream Magazine have voted Urd as "Album of the Month" in their current issues. Borkangar mastermind Oystein G. Brun has checked-in to comment about the amazing advance reactions, as well as the band status:

"Hey folks! Just wanted to give you all a brief status report from the BORK headquarters...

"First off I would like to express our gratitude for all the amazing feedback we have got for the upcoming album. As earlier stated we're all very satisfied and proud of the new album, but the fact that this album would unleash such a massive and positive feedback came a bit as a surprise for all of us. 'Urd' recently won the 'album of the month' in Metal Hammer Germany, something we really didn't really expect being the 'unconventional' band we are. Also we won the 'album of the month' in Scream Magazine in Norway and it feels good to get that kind of recognition in our own territory. We have done numerous interviews the past weeks and what a joyful ride it is, the feedbacks are generally amazing and we can't do anything but smile. More...

In the wake of the release of their upcoming album, "Urd," on March 26th in Europe and in North America, Norwegian metallers Borknagar have announced a new drummer for the band's line-up. The exceptionally talented youngster Baard Kolstad is now joining Borknagar as the new drummer, and he will perform his first show together with the band at this year's Inferno Festival during April 4th-7th in Oslo, Norway. Kolstad's extreme drum abilities have been proven through several YouTube clips, TV-appearances in Norway and just recently, he won the world championship in V-Drums in Los Angeles.

In regards to Kolstad joining the band, Borknagar's mastermind Øystein G. Brun comments: "First and foremost I would like to welcome Baard into the fold, may our journey ahead become a joy able ride. We are all very excited about Baard teaming up with the band. He has proven to be an immensely talented drummer with skills and a technique that is simply breathtaking. Our first encounter was late last year when he stepped in and recorded drums for ICS VORTEX's cover version of METALLICA's song 'Don't Tread On Me'. Since then we have kept an eye on him. When we spilt with David Kinkade a bit later on, the road ahead was obvious. We are all very much looking forward to pull off the very first gigs..."

Kolstad adds : "I'm really happy for this opportunity and the fact that I have earned the respect to play with BORKNAGAR. Really looking forward to the musical adventure that the future holds and will do my best to deal with the challenge in the most respectful and creative way. Now, I just want to play!" More...

Norway's Borknagar is now premiering the first single off the band's new studio album, "Urd" (due out March 26th in Europe and March 27th in North America), via Decibel.com. Go check out the enthralling track "Roots" here.

Borknagar's mastermind Øystein G. Brun checked in to comment about the song:

"In regards to the depth, diversity and magnitude of our new album, 'Urd', it almost feels painful to slice off just a tiny bit of the bloody roast for the very first official 'starter'. I would argue that each and every song on the new album stands on solid ground, but as usual with our music, the songs empower each other in the context of a full album.

"That said, 'Roots' is probably the song on the album that gives you the most representative impression of 'Urd'. Musically it contains most of the elements that framework the musical universe of BORKNAGAR, and lyrically this song is gnawing on the very spine of our lyrical tradition. Hope you enjoy this song, the first tiny glimpse into our new opus. The beast is about to be unleashed..." More...